“What job does Greece have carrying out military exercises in Oinousses”, said Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar, at a ceremony marking the start of the new academic year at the Naval Academy in Constantinople (Istanbul).
He continued dubbing the military exercises as a provocation against Turkey, accusing Greece of seeking to raise tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean while projecting a “peaceful” face as long as Ankara’s egregious aspirations in the region are accepted.
In the presence of the leaders of the Land Forces, Navy, and Air Force, Akar accused Greek politicians, who he did not name, of escalating ‘bilateral relations’ by their actions.
“Turkey will never allow searches of the Nautical Geo ship east of Crete and southwest of Cyprus, the Turkish Defence Minister said, claiming that these areas were Turkey’s maritime jurisdiction. According to a response from the Cyprus News Agency, Akar said: “We are determined in this matter, we will not allow the violation of our rights.”
“We said we would never allow that. There, the forces of our navy did what they had to do and did not leave this ship in the area in question,” he said, accusing Greece of being the side that is escalating tensions.
“Turkey is not a threat to anyone and apart from protecting its own rights and sovereignty, we do not seek to violate anyone’s rights. We respect borders, rights, rights, and the sovereignty of all. Everyone should know that Turkey is a reliable, strong, and effective ally. We sincerely want the problems with Greece to be resolved within the framework of international law through good neighbourly relations through dialogue and finding political solutions for the peoples of both sides to live in peace and security benefiting from their wealth. This is our sincere view and desire,” he said, adding meaningfully that “Greece should abandon its aggressive rhetoric” which is not going to defeat Turkey as it claimed.
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